When The Gun Smoke Settles
by Plague's Vengeance
Summary: "Do I look like tha type to walk 'round barefoot with a baby on my hip?" She asked flatly with a dry look. Merle grinned toothily at her and made a lewd gesture, "Well sweetcheeks, we can always find out." Jason shook his head, "Nah, y'all wouldn' want that. She'd cut yer balls off an' feed 'em t'ya while ya slept." Daryl snorted a laugh and he glanced up at her in amusement. DD/OC
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER FOR THE WHOLE STORY: I own nothing you may recognize, which means The Walking Dead Characters, comic book and TV series alike are not mine, no matter how much I really, really want my own personal Daryl Dixon…Yummy… Anyhooties, OCs are mine. Rated M for language, gore, and possible sexual situations. You have been warned.**

* * *

Amber eyes blinked slowly as they observed the young buck slowly grazing among the bushes. Quietly the owner of the ambers eyes slowly raised the bow in their hands, sighting down the arrow and taking aim at the oblivious buck. Exhaling slowly, the hunter released the arrow, watching as it sailed silently through the air and embedded itself just behind the shoulder. The animal jolted slightly and stumbled forward, leaping over the bushes it had just been grazing in front of and disappearing from sight.

Remy straightened slowly and slid her Montana Longbow over her shoulder, adjusting it so the bowstring rested snugly across her bound chest. The young woman rolled her shoulders and unsheathed the hunting knife strapped to her thigh, whistling softly as she stepped out from behind the bushes she had been using as cover. An even softer woof answered her whistle and a few moments later, a large black-phased wolf-dog slipped from the trees a few feet away and trotted over to her.

"Double lung shot, Fen," Remy mused lowly as she stepped lightly across the leafy ground and towards the start of the blood trail, "Mighta nicked tha heart too. We goin' to be eatin' good tonigh', _cher_."

The wolf-dog flicked his left ear in acknowledgement and pressed his black nose to the ground, sniffing at the wet blood on the ground. Ears perking up, Fenrir rumbled lowly in his chest and stalked quietly through the bushes, the young woman trailing silently behind him.

* * *

Remy pressed her booted foot against the dead buck's shoulder and grasped the end of her arrow, yanking it firmly from the still bleeding carcass. Fenrir sat beside her, head swiveling around with his ears cocked as he listened for danger. Remy shifted the buck onto its back and kneeled beside it, trusting Fenrir to keep a look out for any flesh-eaters while she field dressed the buck. Grimacing, the young woman reached into one of the large pockets of her cargo pants and pulled out two cloth drawstring bags for the heart and liver then she began to tedious task of gutting the deer with her hunting knife.

Fenrir's left ear suddenly twitched and his head jerked around to stare intently at the woods to the left of himself and his mistress. Remy paused in severing the buck's windpipe and esophagus, focusing amber gaze on the wolf-dog as he got to his feet. His ears were cocked forward and his gold eyes were staring intently into the woods, a low rumble, like distant thunder, coming from his broad chest. Remy noted that his lips were curled back and the growl wasn't the usual one he made when he a flesh-eater's scent, which meant another animal could have caught his attention. Or it could have been a human.

The young woman carefully removed her hands and arms from the buck's chest cavity then she slowly straightened, the black hunting knife held loosely in her hand. Seeing his mistress on her feet, Fenrir took a few steps towards whatever had caught his attention, pausing to look back at Remy. Remy glanced down at the deer once before signaling for the wolf-dog to lead her to whatever it was, following the massive canine silently as he padded quietly through the trees.

* * *

Carl bit his lip to keep from sobbing to loudly as he looked around himself, staring at the never ending trees in distress. He'd just wanted to help out by finding some berries or mushrooms in the woods around the quarry, but he hadn't meant to wander so far away from the camp and now he was lost. All the trees and bushes looked the same to him and every time he tried to find something that looked familiar, the more lost he became. He really wished his had listened to his mom about not leaving Dale's sight.

Biting his lip even harder, Carl looked around him again as he debated calling out of help in the hope that he was close enough to camp that someone might hear him.

"H-help." He called out weakly then cleared his throat and tried again, "Help! Someone help me!"

The sudden sound of a twig snapping had Carl whirling around, the red plastic bucket held defensively in his hands. Not that it would do a lot a good, but it made him feel a little better to know that he had something to maybe defend himself with. The small feeling of security the bucket had giving him disappeared and was replaced by terror when he caught sight the bright gold eyes staring at him from the shadows of the trees a foot or so away from him.

A curse word he'd heard Shane use once escaped him as a massive black wolf slipped from between the trees, its bright gold eyes focused on his as it sat down in front of the trees with its head tilted almost curiously to the side. Carl swallowed thickly as he and the wolf stared at each other, his eyes going wide when the massive animal's tongue suddenly lolled out and its began to wag slowly as it regarded him with intelligent gold eyes.

"G-good dog." Carl muttered in slight fear as he held his hand out to it, "A-are you friendly? Please be friendly…"

The wolf barked quietly and rolled onto its back, exposing its grayish belly as its tail began to wag a little faster. A quiet giggle escaped the young boy and he cautiously approached the large canine, placing the bucket on the ground as he kneeled beside the wolf.

"Good boy…" Carl murmured, a little surer of himself as he warily rubbed the wolf's furry belly.

The dog made what could have been a groan of pleasure and its—his, Carl mentally corrected himself when he saw the wolf's very visible privates—tongue lolled out even more as he wagged his tail even more.

"No wha' do ya have here? Findin' strays are ya, _cher_?"

The throaty, growling Southern drawl caused Carl to jump and fall onto his backside with a fearful squeal while the wolf rolled to his feet, his tail wagging fiercely as he looked up at the speaker. Carl stared wide-eyed at the tall figure standing between the trees that wolf had appeared from, amusement glinting in the hard amber eyes that were staring at him from above the black mask that covered the lower half of the person's face while a dark black beanie kept their head covered.

Carl swallowed thickly again and whimpered quietly as he watched the person slowly crouch down in front of him. He flinched when the man—because the person looked like man to Carl—stretched out one fingerless-gloved hand towards him. He instantly felt foolish when the wolf trotted forward and pushed his large head against the hand, tail wagging furiously as the masked man scratched the wolf's big ears. Carl bit his lip and stared at the stranger with wide, fear-filled blue eyes.

"You don' have to be afraid, _p'tit ami_?" The man stated gently as he looked at the young boy, amber eyes softening.

"W-why are you wearing a mask?" Carl stuttered, unable to contain his curiosity despite his fear of the stranger.

Amber eyes warmed in amusement and Carl saw little crinkles appear at the corner of the stranger's eyes, giving him the impression that he was smiling.

"Would you like me to take it off, _ami_?" The stranger asked softly and Carl nodded slowly, his brows furrowing as his curiosity began to outweigh his fear, "Alrigh', but ya have to promise not to tell anyone, yeah?"

"I promise." Carl agreed and he watched eagerly as the stranger lifted his hands up and pulled the mask down.

"You're a girl!" Carl gasped in shock as he stared at the very womanly face then his blue eyes focused on the small scars scattered across her left cheek, the left side of her nose, mouth, and jaw, "What happened to your face?"

The woman smiled slowly at him and he flushed, mentally hearing his mother's voice scolding him for being so rude and looked down at the ground sheepishly.

"A mean man decided that I had a very smart mouth." She replied lightly and she slowly held one gloved hand out to him, "My name's Remy, what's yers, _mon_ _ami_?"

Carl shook the woman's large hand and furrowed his brows in confusion, "I'm Carl. What does that mean?"

She smiled slowly again, "_Ami_? It means boy or sweetheart, dependin' on who yer talkin' to, it's what my Papere called my brothers and I when they were young'uns. Are ya lost, Carl?"

"Yes, ma'am." He replied sheepishly, "My mom said not to wander to far from camp, but I wanted to find some berries or mushrooms to help out with food."

"Ah, tha' camp up above tha quarry?"

"Hmm." Carl hummed in confirmation as he scratched behind the large wolf's ears, smiling when he began bouncing his back leg happily, "What's his name? He looks like a wolf. Is he a wolf?"

"His name's Fenrir, but ya can call 'im Fen. He's part wolf, part a bunch o' other things." The woman, Remy, commented softly, her voice a husky drawl that Carl found oddly nice to listen too, "C'mon, _chéri_, why don' I take ya back to yer camp?"

"Can you?" Carl asked eagerly, finally looking away from the wolf-dog, "I don't know the way back though…"

The woman just smiled that same slow smile, the corners of her amber eyes crinkling warmly as she got to her feet and Carl couldn't help but smile back at her. When she held a gloved hand out to him, he took it willingly and a quiet giggle escaped him when she pulled him easily to his feet. She held his hand gently in her gloved one as she began leading in the opposite direction she had come from, patting her thigh with her free hand.

"Come along, Fen. Take point, boy." She called softly and the dog gave a soft woof as he trotted past her and Carl until he was walking a foot or so in front of them.

* * *

"And then there's Shane, he was my dad's best friend." Carl chattered happily as he walked beside Remy with Fenrir leading the way, "He took care of me an' my mom after my dad died and everything happened. He's really awesome, everyone at camp does what he says, 'cause he's kinda become the leader."

Remy smiled faintly behind her mask, having replaced it a few minutes after she and Carl had begun walking in the direction of his camp. She listened to his chatter with half an ear, while the other listened intently on the area around them for any signs of trouble, her gaze focused on Fenrir stalking quietly through the trees in front of her and the young boy.

"Is that so?" She drawled softly as she looked at the ground, eyes narrowing when she saw the multiple footprints in the dirt and leaves.

"Yeah," Carl confirmed enthusiastically as he swung their conjoined hands slowly, a happy smile on his young face, "He's really cool, Remy, I think you'll like him a lot."

That drew the young woman up short and her sudden stop caused Carl to stumble slightly in surprise. Remy caught him easily before he could fall flat on his face and she slowly turned him to face her. Fenrir paused mid-step and turned to look at them with his head tilted curiously, sitting down quietly a moment later when Remy gestured for him to.

"What's wrong?" Carl asked worriedly as he looked up at the woman that had become his friend in the short-time she had been leading him through the woods, "Remy?"

"Carl," Remy cooed quietly as she kneeled in front of the boy with her hands on his thin shoulders, "I can't stay with ya at yer camp, _chéri_."

"Why?" The young boy asked with a pout as he looked at his new friend with confused blue eyes, "Why can't you stay with me?"

"Oh, honey, I have to get back to my own camp, there are things there I need to take care of." She explained gently and she pushed a stray hair off his forehead, "Now, Carl, I need ya to promise me somethin', can ya do that fer me?"

Carl sniffled, but he nodded his head, "Yeah…"

"That's a good boy." Remy said in approval as she smiled softly at him, "Ya need to promise me that ya won' tell anyone at yer camp that 'm a girl, alrigh'? Tell 'em a man in a mask found ya an' led ya back to tha quarry, alrigh'?"

"Okay."

"Ya promise?"

Carl sniffled again and wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt, "I promise."

"Good." Remy stated, her gaze focusing on Fenrir over Carl's shoulders, his dark ears perked up and his head turned in the direction they were walking in.

The young woman tilted her head slightly and listened intently, the faint sound of people shouting reaching her keen ears. Straightening, Remy took Carl's hand in her again and she gently tugged him in the direction of the voice.

"C'mon, _cher_, yer camp is just between those trees." She said softly and Carl smiled, eagerly tugging on her hand as he rushed forward with Fenrir coming to walk beside his mistress.

* * *

"Carl!" Lori called out desperately as she walked through the woods surrounding the camp in search of her wayward son, "Carl! Baby, where are you?"

The frantic mother could hear Shane and several others shouting for her son as they scoured the woods for Carl. Lori spun around when she heard a twig snapped and relief filled her when she saw Shane standing there.

"Did you find him?" She asked as she hurriedly approached him, wringing her thin hands together in worry.

Shane ran a hand through his curly hair, a distressed look in his dark eyes, "We've looked in the woods around the camp and around the quarry, but we can't find any sign of him. If the Dixons weren't out hunting, I'd ask them about trackin' him."

Lori made a distraught sound and tears cascaded down her cheeks as she thought about her young son wandering all by himself in the woods. Shane stepped forward and wrapped his big arms around her comfortingly, one large hand rubbing soothing circles on her lower back.

"Shane, my baby, he's alone in the woods. He could be hurt or worse!" She wailed despondently.

"Shane! Lori! Come quick!" Dale's sudden shout from back at camp stopped Shane from replying.

The burly former officer quickly let go of the thin brunette and she took off like a shot back towards the camp, with him not too far behind.

"Carl!" Lori shouted in relief when she saw her son standing beside Dale, Jacqui, and Jim, the red bucket they used for collecting mushrooms held in one hand, "Oh, my baby!"

"Mom!" Carl whined in protest as he started wiggling in his sobbing mother's vice grip, "I'm fine, Mom, honestly."

"Where were you?" Lori demanded sternly as she held her son at arm's length by the shoulders, a harsh frown on her thin face, "I've been worried sick! I've told you hundred times, not to wander away from camp!"

"But Mom, I wanted to help get food for the rest of the camp." Carl stated petulantly and he held the bucket up, showing her the berries and mushrooms he'd found while walking with Remy, "Look! I found some berries!"

"You know you're not supposed to leave Dale's sight, Carl." Shane scolded the young boy with a frown as he looked at Dale, "Where did you find him?"

Dale shrugged helplessly, "That's the thing, we didn't. He just wandered back into camp, Jacqui and Jim saw him slipping under the string of cans."

"Where we you?" Lori demanded again as she looked at her son in the eye after hearing what Dale had said, "What were you thinking, Carl?! You could have gotten hurt!"

The young boy hung his head and scuffed his foot in the dirt with a frown, "I just wanted to help the camp."

Shane stepped forward and put a hand on Lori's shoulder, pulling her attention to him. The former deputy gave her a reassuring smile then he looked at twelve year old boy. Lori stood with a huff and she took a few steps back, her thin arms crossed over her small chest as she regarded her son.

"That's very good of ya, Carl, but next time ya have to ask if you can leave camp and see if ya can take an adult, alright." Shane said gently as he put a hand his charge's shoulder, "But, how did you get back to camp?"

Carl hesitated a moment as he looked at Shane, the man that had taken care of him and his mom after his father died and the dead started rising and eating people. He didn't want to lie to Shane, but he had promised Remy he wouldn't tell anyone who she was.

"I was lost." He said after a moment and he frowned slightly, "I-it was scary and I tried calling for help, but I think I was too far away. I didn't know where to go, but then this-this really big dog appeared. Shane, you should have seen 'im! He was huge, almost as tall as me and he was all black with a gray belly. At first I was really scared of him because he was so big, but then he just kinda rolled over and let me rub his belly!"

"Carl," Shane broke in gently, stopping the young boy mid-ramble and gently prodding him to continue, "The dog sounds awesome, but did you see anyone with the dog? Anyone at all?"

"Well, yeah," Carl replied slowly as he furrowed his brows as he carefully thought out the lie he was about to tell his protector, "A…man appeared, from the same direction the dog came from. I didn't see his face, since he was wearin' a mask over his mouth and nose and he had a black beanie on. He asked me if I was by myself and I told him about the camp by the quarry. He said he knew where the quarry was so he brought me back."

Carl held up the bucket of berries again, "He showed me which berries and mushrooms were okay to eat."

Shane frowned and he looked at Carl carefully, "Did he hurt you? Didn't try anythin' did he?"

"No." Carl responded with a frown, feeling slightly annoyed that no one was acknowledging the fact that he had brought food back to the camp, something everyone was always saying they needed.

"This is a great find, son." Dale complimented the young boy warmly as he took the bucket from his hand, "I'll have Amy wash these up and we can have them with dinner, how does that sound?"

Carl smiled delightedly up at the older man, happy to finally be acknowledged and he nodded eagerly.

"Carl," Shane stated, pulling the young boy's attention back to him, "Did this man tell you his name?"

"No." Carl replied innocently with a shrug, feeling strangely exhilarated at being able to keep Remy's identity all to himself, "He didn't say anything really, just what berries and mushrooms were okay to eat and which weren't."

Shane nodded slowly and he gently pushed Carl towards his waiting mother then he straightened, his dark eyes scanning the tree line around camp.

"Jim, do ya think ya and Jacqui can show me where you found Carl comin' into camp?" Shane questioned carefully as he stared at the trees warily.

Jim nodded quietly and he gestured for Shane to follow him, Jacqui trailing after them while Dale went back to his perch on top of his old Winnebago. Shane stopped by his Jeep and grabbed his shotgun from the back then he continued to follow after Jacqui and Jim, his frown deep and annoyed.

* * *

Remy's eyes narrowed as she hovered in the shadows of the trees, amber eyes focused on Carl as a thin, brunette woman, his mother no doubt, kneeled in front of him with brawny, curly-haired man standing protectively over them, one hand resting on the gun his waist. Behind the three, an older man in a Hawaiian shirt and a bucket, a tall, thin, scruffy man, and a pretty dark-skinned woman all stood looking at the young boy in concern and amazement.

She watched the reunion quietly from behind the tree with Fenrir at her side, making sure that Carl's mother was actually going to keep an eye on him. She had already told Carl before they had reached his group that he needed to always remain in camp with the rest of his group because the woods weren't safe for someone who didn't know how to survive in them. Remy just hoped he listened to her. He seemed like a hardheaded and independent kid, something that reminded Remy of herself and her brothers.

"C'mon, Fen." The young woman breathed quietly as she slowly walked backwards into the forest when she saw the thin scruffy man lead the big man and the pretty black woman away from the Carl and his mother, heading toward the place she had left Carl just outside the line hanging cans.

The black wolf-dog trotted silently after his mistress, appearing to almost glide through the trees and bushes, slipping in and out of the shadows along the woman.

Remy sighed and scratched her cheek through the fabric of her mask, "Ah hell, _cher_, looks like it's squirrels an' rabbits fer dinner t'night. Deer's, no doubt attracted the predators, or worse, the flesh-eaters."

She ran her hand the scruff around Fenrir's neck as she continued quietly, "Better head back that way an' kill any sacks o' guts that mighta stumbled onto tha carcass. Can't have any of 'em findin' those people in tha quarry, now can we?"

A snort was the only response from the wolf-dog at her side and Remy rolled her amber eyes in amusement.

* * *

**Author's Note: …Ahem, well, I know this is probably unexpected, but my friend wanted to see if we could do a…well, collaboration is the best word, and I figured what the hell. We're both in love with Daryl Dixon from the Walking Dead, so we figured that would be the best series to do a fanfiction collaboration. Now, the way this partnership is going to work is that she provided me with ideas, writes an outline type thing and then I write out the actually chapters, tweaking a few things here and there. Then she rereads it and if we both like it, I'll post the chapters up. This starts out a little bit before Season 1, and yes that's cliché, but that was what my friend and I settled on and then it will start to follow the seasons pretty closely, not word-for-word, but we'll be trying to keep it as canon as possible. The title might change at some point, just a warning.**

**Now, I personally don't really know if anyone is actually going to like this story, but my friend has high hopes, since she's got it in her head that I can write anything because of the success of my Avatar the Last Airbender story and my Twilight story. Updates will be irregular since I have lots of school work to do since graduation is in less than a month and my friend can be a little forgetful sometimes, God love her. Anyhooties, I hope y'all like this story. :) **

**PS – I don't think I'll ever fin a picture of what Remy looks like, although I'll try really hard to, but I did find the perfect picture of what I imagined Fenrir the wolf-dog to look like, so if you want a good idea of just how freaking huge he is, check out my profile.**

**PSS – Here are the translations for the words in italics that Remy speaks, she's part Cajun so there will be some Cajun-French/Cajun-English adding some flavor to her dialect. Also, any tips on how to write a Southern accent would be much appreciated! :]**

_Cher/C__héri_ – Dear or darling - also used as "buddy" or "pal"  
_P'tit Ami/Mon Ami_– Little boy/Sweetheart


	2. Chapter 2

Remy stared at the sturdy log cabin in the middle of the woods, quietly stalking around the area around the wooden building as she looked around for anything that hadn't been there when she left earlier in the day, Fenrir trotting beside her. The handless and toothless flesh-eaters tied at each corner of the cabin shifted, moaning weakly as they tugged against the thick rope wrapped around their throats. The young woman grimaced under her mask and came back around front once her perimeter check was finished, giving a soft six note whistle.

An answering whistle pierced the air a few seconds later and the front door to the cabin opened, a tall, lanky teen holding a crossbow appearing in the doorway. The teen grimaced as the flesh-eater tied near the door rasped and flailed its handless arms in his direction.

"Shuddap ya ugly ass gutbag." He growled in irritation as he kicked it onto its side with a booted foot then he looked over at the older woman and canine making their way towards the cabin, "Thought ya were bringin' home a deer, _tante_."

Remy grunted as she and the wolf-dog slipped into the cabin, "Was in tha middle o' guttin' it when I ran into some trouble. Where's yer sister?"

Jason, better known as Jace, closed the front door, locking the multiple deadbolts and chains then he looked at the woman that had been his protector for as long as he could remember, his brow furrowed.

"Flesh-eaters?"

"If only…" Remy muttered as she dropped the string of squirrels and rabbits on the table in the kitchen, "Annie! Where are you, _petite fille_?"

"I though' we was havin' deer fer dinner, Tante Remy."

Remy smiled slowly as the ten year old girl slipped into the kitchen and sat at the table, her blonde hair plaited in two braids. The young girl screwed up her face in a grimace when she saw the squirrels and rabbits on the table then she sighed.

"Squirrels, yummy…" Annie mumbled as she pulled one of the squirrels towards her, lifting one leg and pulling a knife from her boot a moment later.

"Hey, I got us some rabbits too." Remy snarked teasingly as she gently cuffed the ten year old girl upside the head as she walked past her, "Stop yer bitchin', child."

"_Tante_," Jace drawled in exasperation as he grabbed a small bucket from one of the cabinets in the kitchen and he placed it on the table beside the dead critters, "What happened?"

Remy sighed quietly and sat down at the table across from Jace, unsheathing her hunting knife and pulling one of the rabbits towards her to start gutting it, Annie working on the squirrel beside her.

"Was field dressin' tha deer when somethin' caught Fen's attention. He wasn' growlin', so I figured it was jus' some critter. Maybe a person."

"What was it?" Annie asked curiously, glancing up at her 'aunt' from gutting the squirrel in front of her, "Tante?"

The woman grimaced and placed her knife on the table then she reached up and took off her mask followed by the beanie that kept her short auburn hair hidden, tucking both of them into one of the many pockets of her cargo pants. She peeled off her leather fingerless gloves, revealing her calloused and scarred hands, and she tucked the gloves in another pocket.

"It was a kid, year or two older than ya, Annie." Remy explained slowly as she plucked up her knife and started gutting the rabbit, "He was from that camp up in tha quarry, got 'imself lost lookin' for mushrooms an' berries."

Annie snorted derisively at that, Remy and Jace exchanging amused glances with each other across the table.

"If he was goin' to get 'imself lost, he shoulda stayed outta tha damn woods." The blonde girl mumbled as she plucked out the squirrel's heart and tossed it to Fenrir, who ate it happily.

"Not everyone was raised in tha woods, Annie Oakley." Jace commented with a smirk as he took the gutted squirrel his half-sister handed him and began to skin it.

Annie made a face at her older half-brother and grabbed another squirrel from the string, deftly slicing its abdomen open with her hunting knife. Remy smiled faintly at the two siblings as she finished gutting the rabbit and began skinning it, placing all the unwanted parts in the bucket.

"As I was sayin', Fenrir found 'im, terrified tha hell outta tha boy until he started actin' like a big puppy." Remy said and she gave the large wolf-dog a dry look, "Some fearsome beast ya're. Long story short, I led tha kid back to his camp an' told 'im to tell his people that I was jus' a man doin' a good deed."

"You sure he didn't tell anyone 'bout ya?" Jace asked carefully as he finished skinning the squirrel, placing the pelt on the table beside him to be cleaned later.

Remy shrugged one shoulder, "Doubt it, but we won' know unless someone tries to find us."

Jace glanced up at her, noting that she didn't seem too worried and he nodded slightly. The three fell silent as they finished gutting and skinning the rest of the squirrels and rabbits, occasionally tossing the hearts or livers to Fenrir.

* * *

"I don't think this is a good idea, Carl." Sophia muttered unsurely as she stood just outside the string of cans with Carl, Eliza, and Eliza's younger brother Louis, "Mr. Shane said not to go into the woods, you know that."

"Oh c'mon, Soph." Carl stated with a small, exasperated eye roll, "I'm just goin' to look around real quick."

The young blonde girl huffed and crossed her thin arms over her chest, "Well, I'm not goin', Shane said it's not safe. _And_ your mama said to stay in camp, you should listen to her, you know."

"Yeah, Carl," Eliza agreed with a frown, "Besides how do you even know if you'll find that guy that saved you?"

"I'll find him." Carl replied with more confidence than he actually felt, "Are you comin', Louis?"

The younger boy hesitated a moment, looking between his friend and his disapproving sister.

"Yeah." Louis finally agreed and the two boys shared wide grins, while the Eliza scowled at them.

"Well, I'm goin' to go tell Mom." Eliza snapped and she grabbed Sophia's hand gently, "C'mon Sophia."

Carl made a face as he and Louis watched the two girls run back towards camp then he gestured for the younger boy to follow him.

"C'mon, Louis, we better get goin'."

Louis grinned excitedly as he followed the older boy into the woods around the camp.

* * *

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, Carl." Louis remarked warily as he followed the older boy through the shadowed trees fearfully, jumping when something snapped a twig to his left.

"It's fine, Louis." Carl mumbled in reply and he paused to look around, scrunching up his nose as he tried to figure out just where Remy had found him a few days ago, "I know it's around here somewhere…"

"Carl," Louis whispered and he tugged on the back of Carl's shirt when another twig snapped nearby, "I'm scared, maybe we should go back to camp."

The blue-eyed boy frowned and looked around unsurely, his brow furrowing in worry and trepidation when he noticed how quiet the forest had abruptly gotten. The birds weren't chirping and he couldn't hear the squirrels rustling in the trees anymore.

"Maybe you're right." Carl muttered then he and Louis jumped when the bushes in front of them began rustling violently.

Suddenly, a rotted and snarling face appeared from the bushes, soon followed by the rest of the hungry walker. Carl and Louis screamed in fear and the two quickly lurched backwards in an attempt to get away from dead thing. The walker lurched toward them, it's gait slow and awkward because of its missing left foot.

"Run, Louis!" Carl screamed and he grabbed the younger boy's arm, pulling him along as they dodged around trees and they both hoped that they were heading in the right direction.

Louis suddenly tripped over a root, sending both boys sprawling on the unforgiving forest floor, the walker still stumbling after them as it growled hungrily and reached for them with decaying fingers. Carl scrambled backwards, pulling Louis along as they began crawling away from the geek, both boys sobbing loudly in terror.

A sharp whistle abruptly pierced the air and Carl watched with wide eyes as a massive, black blur burst from the bushes and tackled the walker.

"Fen!" Carl cried out in relief and shock as the massive wolf-dog leapt off the walker and danced away from it.

"Ugly sumabitch!"

Remy's harsh, growling Southern drawl was blessedly familiar and Carl sobbed in relief as the tall, masked woman stepped out of the trees with an arrow nocked in her longbow. She released the arrow and it embedded itself right between the walker's eyes just as it was struggling to get back to its feet.

Louis whimpered and clung to Carl, tears streaming down his dirty, tanned face, staring up in fear and awe at the masked figure. The masked figure stomped over to the dead walker and ripped the black-fletched arrow from its skull viciously, while the large black wolf-dog stood warily beside her, his gold eyes focused on the dead walker. Carl and Louis flinched simultaneously when Remy whirled around, amber eyes hard and full of anger.

"What were thinkin', boy?!" She hissed as she stormed over to the two boys and yanked them to their feet, "I told ya to stay in yer damn camp, Carl!"

"I'm sorry!" Carl squeaked, feeling a brief flash of fear at the furious look in his older friend's eyes, "I'm sorry, Remy! I just wanted to find you and Fen! I didn't want you to be alone…"

The young boy shuffled backwards when Remy released his arm abruptly and Louis instantly latched onto the back of his shirt, staring at the masked figure with wide brown eyes.

* * *

Remy ran her hands over her face and made a harsh noise in the back of her throat as she reined in her temper. She had figured he wouldn't listen to her, but she had hoped he would, which was stupid because her father and grandfather always told her to prepare and expect the worst, 'cause hoping for the best didn't do a lick of good.

"Shit." Remy growled lowly and she dropped to her knees in front of Carl and the other little boy, placing her longbow on the ground then her hands gently on Carl's shoulders, "Carl, _c____héri_, did ya or yer friend get bit? Scratched?"

"No, Remy." Carl replied with shake of his head, his tense shoulders relaxing at the more familiar warmth in her amber eyes, "I don't think so. Louis?"

"N-n-no." The younger boy stuttered without taking his fearful gaze away from Remy, "I'm fine. My ankle kinda hurts, though…"

"Good, good." Remy mumbled and she rubbed her covered mouth with the back of her hand as she stared off to the side, Fenrir trotting forward to lick Carl's face in a delayed greeting.

Carl giggled and threw his arms around the massive canine's furry neck, the relief that Remy had saved him and Louis from the walker making his knees weak. Remy straightened abruptly and she picked up her longbow, slinging it over her back as she regarded the two boys.

"C'mon, _chéris_, let's get ya back to yer mamas." She said quietly then she looked over at Louis, her brow furrowing, "Ya said yer ankle hurt?"

He nodded slowly, shifting his weight slightly to keep it off his left foot.

"Can I take a look at it, _chéri_?" Remy asked gently and she kneeled in front of him again, "Yer gonna have to sit down."

Louis looked unsurely at Carl, still wary of the masked stranger, but at Carl's encouraging nod, Louis sat down carefully on the ground and stretched his left foot out for the masked woman's to inspect. Remy smiled faintly, the corners of her eyes crinkling, and she gently took the young Hispanic boy's foot in her hand, rolling his pant leg up so she could get a look at his ankle.

"Hmm… Does this hurt?" She questioned as she gently rolled his foot from side-to-side after she had taken his sneaker and sock off and the young boy shook his head in the negative, "Alrigh', well, I don' think it's broken, jus' sprained. What's yer name, _chéri_?"

Louis gave her a wary look as he watched her put his sock and sneaker back on, "Louis, my name is Louis."

"Well, it's nice to meet ya, Louis. I'm Remy an' that furry monster slobberin' all over Carl is Fen." Remy said warmly as she straightened, dusting her gloved hands on her dirty cargos, "Don' think ya should be walkin' on that ankle. Would ya like to ride on Fen's back?"

"Can he carry me?" Louis asked unsurely as he looked from the massive dog, that was happily getting his belly scratched by Carl to the still masked woman, "I don't want to hurt him."

Remy smiled slowly at him, the corners of her eyes crinkling more noticeably than before while her amber eyes became warm pools of honey.

"Don' worry, _chéri_, he's strong." She drawled reassuringly, "I had a niece 'round yer age, used to ride 'im like a horse all tha time. He'll be fine."

Louis hesitated a moment more then he nodded in agreement. The corner of her eyes crinkled again and she stepped forward, picking him up gently.

"Fen," She called out, catching the wolf-dog's attention and causing him to roll to his feet and trot over to her, "Ride, boy."

The wolf-dog shifted and took a firmer stance, easily taking Louis's weight when Remy placed the young boy one his back. Carl shuffled closer and stood beside Remy as she helped Louis settle more comfortably on the large wolf-dog's back.

"There ya go, jus' hold on to the scruff 'round his neck, right here." Remy explained as she showed Louis where the hold onto Fenrir's scruff, adjusting the young boy's hands for second, "Alrigh', we good. Let's head back to y'all's camp, yeah?"

"Will you stay this time?" Carl asked quietly as he took Remy's hand and the trio of humans and the wolf-dog began walking through the trees, apparently in the direction of the camp in the quarry.

"I can't, _chéri_," Remy said slowly as she walked, one hand on Louis's back to offer another form of support as Fenrir walked alongside her, his head moving slowly as he looked out for danger, "I…I know ya think I'm alone out here, but I'm not."

"I don't think Fen counts, Remy." Carl stated naively as he slowly swung his and Remy's conjoined hands, "He's just a dog, you should be with people. Mr. Dale's always saying people should stick together right now."

Remy sighed quietly and glanced down at him, mentally debating what to tell him.

"Fen, isn't tha only one I'm with, Carl." She said slowly as they walked, "My godson an' goddaughter are with me."

Carl's eyes went huge and he looked up at the woman in shock, "What?"

Louis shifted slightly on Fenrir's back and instinctively, Remy grasped his arm and steadied him. The little boy gave her a small, grateful smile and tightened his grip on the wolf-dog's scruff. Remy glanced down at Carl once the other boy was steady then she looked straight ahead, taking notice of the more obvious foot traffic on the forest floor.

"We're almost back at ya'll's camp." She remarked, easily evading Carl's question and distraction the boy from his train of thought, "I can hear yer people shoutin' fer y'all. Listen."

Carl frowned and squinted his eyes, train of thought successfully derailed as he and Louis listened intently. The faint sounds of shouting reached their ears and Louis tried to scramble off Fenrir's back, Remy's muscular arms coming around him just before he fell completely.

"Easy there, _chéri_." She cooed softly as she hiked the young boy onto her hip, "How 'bout I carry ya tha rest of tha way? Gotta keep ya off that ankle."

"Alright." Louis agreed and he slipped his arms around her neck, resting his head trustingly on her shoulder.

Remy twitched slightly at the sudden contact, but her steps didn't falter as she used one arm to keep him on her hip and she grabbed Carl's hand again with her free one, Fenrir trotting happily beside her. As they continued through the trees, the shouting got louder and Carl began to bounce slightly as he walked when he heard his mom and Shane's voice shouting for him.

"Mom!" Carl cried out excitedly as he released Remy's hand and ran forward out of the trees, ducking under the string of cans and barreling headlong into his mother's stunned arms.

* * *

"Carl!" Lori gasped in shock and relief when her son came barreling out of the woods and launched herself in her arms, causing her to almost fall on her backside if Shane hadn't steadied her, "Oh my baby!"

The rest of the camp quickly gathered around Carl, Lori, and Shane, murmuring in relief. On the outskirts of the group, Daryl and Merle Dixon hovered slightly. Daryl adjusted his crossbow's strap on his shoulder and looked in the direction the Grimes boy had come from, his bright blue eyes narrowing when he saw the shadowed figure standing just outside the circle of tents. He shifted and stared at the figure, who was had hedged closer to the other survivors, the little Hispanic boy on her hip and the massive wolf-dog at her side. The younger of the two brothers slid away from the group and towards the stranger, his crossbow at the ready.

Miranda, with her husband and daughter, rushed towards the reunited mother and son, "Carl, where's Louis?! Where's my son?"

Carl turned in his mother's arms and looked up at the frantic woman as he opened his mouth to reply.

"He's righ' here, ma'am."

Almost simultaneously the large group of survivors spun around to face direction the rough, growling Southern drawl came from. The masked stranger observed them all with impassive amber eyes, Louis lifting his head up from his shoulder.

"Mama!" Louis called out as he reached his arms out to his mother and Miranda's hand flew to her mouth as she and her husband rushed forward.

"Careful," The stranger said quietly as she gently passed the young boy into his parents' waiting arms, "I think he twisted his ankle when he tripped over a root."

"Thank you, thank you so much for bringin' my baby back." Miranda sobbed and her husband quickly led her back to the rest of the group, both of them cradling Louis in their arms.

Shane narrowed his eyes and stepped around Lori and Carl, his shotgun slightly raised, "If ya don't mind me askin', who the hell are ya?"

The burly former deputy nodded once when he saw Daryl appeared behind him, crossbow up and loaded, and the masked stranger turned his head slightly towards the redneck hunter. Daryl's eyes narrowed as he aimed his crossbow at the stranger's head and amber eyes regarded him coolly before turning around to face Shane again.

"Don't hurt he-him!" Carl exclaimed when he saw Daryl and Shane pointing their weapons at his friend, "Please!"

The stranger glanced at him and shook her head vaguely then he went back to looking at Shane, one hand resting on the neck of the massive canine at his side. The wolf-dog had its hackles raised and his its curled back slightly, easily understanding that its master was being threatened.

"Found 'em in tha woods bein' chased by a flesh-eater. My boy an' I took care of it." The outsider explained lowly and amber eyes stared right at Lori, "Ya really should keep a better eye on yer boy, all sorts of nasty things in those woods."

"A walker?" Carol gasped and she held her daughter tightly to her at the thought, "Here?"

Shane's eyes narrowed further and he stepped closer to the stranger, his shotgun still held readily in his hands. The stranger tensed visibly as he approached him, but he didn't move, Daryl keeping him from trying to flee. He shifted to the side and took a step back so that both Shane and Daryl were in his line of sights, both men lifting their weapons up and aiming. The wolf-dog growled, but fell quiet when the masked stranger put a hand on its head.

"Boy, if ya know what's good fer ya, ya better put that shit down." The stranger commented flatly as he regarded both men with hard, wary amber eyes.

"Shane!" Carl pleaded as he tried to wiggle out of his mother's arms, "Please don't hurt her! Remy!"

The stranger flinched harshly at Carl's voice pierced the air, drawing Shane's, Daryl's, and the rest of the camp's attention to him. As soon as their attention was diverted the stranger moved, kicking the crossbow out of her face and twisting around Daryl while he was recovering before disappearing into the woods with the large wolf-dog on her trail.

"Fuck!" Daryl snarled and he ran after the fleeing stranger, intent on getting payback for what he—or she—just did.

"Shit! Dixon get back here!" Shane shouted and he rushed after the hotheaded redneck, calling over his shoulder, "Dale, keep an eye on the camp!"

* * *

Remy raced through the forest, dodging tree branches and leaping over roots and rocks as she ran away from her pursers with Fenrir easily keeping pace with her. She knew the scruffy, dirty man wielding a crossbow was chasing her and she figured the burly man was too. She couldn't bring them back to the cabin, couldn't risk Jace and Annie's lives like that. That meant she had to lose the two men in the woods.

A large tree with a network of roots sticking up from the ground caught her attention and Remy gestured towards it.

"Fen, hid." She ordered firmly and the wolf-dog dove into the old burrow, wiggling himself into the tight space, "Stay quiet."

The auburn haired woman quickly used her hands to hide any evidence that she or Fenrir had stopped here then she glanced back over her shoulder when she heard the men crashing through the brush behind her and she quickly jumped up, catching a low hanging branch and pulling herself up into the tree. Remy quickly scaled higher up the tree, stopping only when she heard the men get closer.

Remy breathed quietly through her nose and she silently unsheathed her hunting knife, just in case, as she watched the crossbow wielder appear under the tree. She held her breath when the man crouched down and began examining the ground intently, like a well-trained tracker and hunter. The man straightened and stalked around the tree, clearly looking for any signs of her and her canine companion.

She waited with bated breath as the hunter came back around the tree, looking at the ground a moment before disappearing into the bushes. Remy waited in the tree for several minutes then she slowly climbed back down, whistling softly for Fenrir once her feet were on the ground.

"Gah!" She grunted when an arm suddenly wrapped around her throat and she was yanked against a hard chest.

Remy rammed an elbow into her assailant's midsection and threw her head back, connecting solidly with her attacker's chin. The man holding her grunted, but his hold didn't slacken and Remy thrashed harder.

"Shit!" Her attacker suddenly swore in a thick Georgia drawl and the pressure on her throat was released as they both fell forward under the heavy weight of her massive wolf-dog.

"Git off!" Remy roared and she bucked the man off her back, quickly rolling to her feet with both of her hunting knifes out and held defensively with Fenrir standing beside her with his hackles raised and his lips curled.

It was the crossbow-wielding hunter that had been tracking her through the forest after she had run from his group's camp. The two stared each other down warily, Remy with her hunting knives and wolf-dog and the hunter with his crossbow aimed at her head. His intense blue eyes flicked over the left side of her face and it was in that moment that Remy realized that her mask had been pulled down in their brief struggle, the small scars now clearly visible for him to see. The mask didn't just hide the scars though, it also kept her real gender hidden, a secret she'd kept since the whole world had gone to shit a month and a half ago.

Remy exhaled slowly and straightened from her half-crouched position, letting her arms fall limply to her sides, though she kept her knives out. The man watched her intently, the crossbow never wavering from her face and his shoulders never relaxing.

"Down, Fen." She murmured lowly without taking her eyes off the hunter and the wolf-dog slowly lowered his hackles, though he kept himself just as tense as his mistress.

"Daryl!"

Both Remy and the hunter whirled around, their weapons up and ready as the burly man from before crashed through the bushes and stumbled into view.

"Whoa, now let's just everybody calm down." The man said carefully as he looked between the hunter, Daryl, and Remy, his shotgun pointed at the ground, "Ma'am, we're not goin' to hurt you. We just want to ask you a few questions."

Remy shifted her weight on the balls of her feet, her lips pursed in annoyance as she looked between the crossbow wielding jackass and the shotgun-wielding one.

"Ain't got nothin' to say." She growled out, "Let us go."

"Now, ya see, I can't do that." The burly man said carefully as he took a step closer to her, "You know where our camp is, you've saved Carl twice and brought him and Louis back to camp when neither of them knew where it was."

Remy curled her upper lip and she tightened the grip she had on her hands, amber eyes still flicking between the two men that were slowly cornering her and Fenrir against a tree.

"Fen…" She breathed quietly as she adjusted the knife in her hand and the dog tensed even more, his ears perking up as he waited for her order, "Run!"

Remy threw her knife at the shotgun-wielding asshole, ducking and spinning around the tree that was at her back just as an arrow embedded itself in the bark where her head had been. She didn't bother to see if her knife had actually hit the burly man or if it had gone past his head like she had wanted it to as she and Fenrir once again weaved through the trees.

* * *

"Damn it!" Daryl snarled as he stomped over and yanked the arrow out of the tree he'd shot, glancing over his shoulder to look at Walsh.

The former deputy was staring slightly wide-eyed at the black Ka-Bar knife embedded in the tree behind him. The knife had just missed hitting him the face and, from what Daryl could see, it had nicked his left ear. The hotheaded hunter growled lowly and shouldered past the burly idiot and ripped the knife out of the tree, tucking in into his boot to look at it later then he started heading back to the camp.

"You ain't gonna go after her?" Shane asked drily as he followed the younger redneck.

"No damn point." Daryl grunted without looking at the former cop, "Gonna be dark soon, track her in tha mornin'."

Shane nodded in agreement or approval, Daryl didn't care which. He didn't need Deputy Dickhead's approval if he wanted to go after the crazy bitch. He wanted some payback for the stunts she pulled, both back in camp and a few minutes ago.

* * *

Remy slowed to a stop and leaned against a tree, trying to get her breathing under control. Fenrir sat down heavily on his haunches beside her, his tongue lolling out as he panted heavily. She had tried to make it as hard as possible for anyone—more specifically the shithead that tried to put an arrow in her head—to track her or Fenrir back to her cabin where her charges were waiting for her.

The sun was still setting, but the forest was already dark and Remy reached into one of her larger pockets, pulling out a small flashlight. Exhaling slowly, the young woman pulled her mask over her mouth and nose, rubbed Fenrir's head then she pulled the Beretta 92 from her waistband at the small of her back. Remy took another deep breath before she and Fenrir began backtracking the way they'd come so they could head back to the cabin. She was more than eager to get back to Jace and Annie, then she'd pack up all their supplies and weapons into her H1 and they'd get the hell out of dodge. She wasn't about to stick around and wait for the survivors at the quarry to come find her and her charges, especially with the lovely welcome she'd gotten.

* * *

**Author's Note: Phew, this is a pretty long chapter. And look! Daryl made a brief appearance! I hope he, Shane, and other canon characters weren't OOC or anything, if they were please tell me so I can try and fix it. Also any tips on how to write Southern accents would be awesome and much appreciated by both me and my friend, who is writing this with me. Also any tips on appropriate Cajun phrases or terms would also be extremely helpful. Anyhooties, my friend and I hope y'all liked this chapter! :)**

**Translations:**

_Cher/C__héri_ – Dear or darling - also used as "buddy" or "pal"

**Special THANKS to everyone that faved and/or alerted! You guys are awesome-sauce and we love you!**

**SPECIAL MENTIONS!**

**Codeblueeyes987: **Thank you, we hope you like this chapter too!

**Snowmbk: **Thank you, I can't take all the credit for writing the last chapter though, my friend came up with the outline and the basic concept, I just added to it. Anyhooties, we hope you like this chapter too!

**ScornedXRose: **Thank you, we're glad you like the story so far and we hope you like this chapter!

**Anonymous: **Thank you so much for the tips! I'll be sure to go back and fix that up, so it's more authentic. My friend actually tried to find some Cajun-English/Cajun-French dictionaries online, but a lot of them were confusing and said different things, but I remember one saying that _boug_ meant boy, which was why we decided to use it. I thought about garcon, I kept thinking of a French waiter every time I wrote it in the dialogue. Yeah, I did listen/watch some clips with Gambit in them to get a good idea of how to write a somewhat authentic Cajun accent, but Remy isn't a full-blooded Cajun. She was born in Louisiana and lived there until she was 13 then she and her family moved to her father's hometown in Alabama, where she lived until she was in her early-mid twenties, so my friend and I figured, her accent would be an interesting blend of Cajun drawl and an Alabama twang, ya know? Anyhooties, sorry for the long reply, my friend and I really appreciate the tips and we hope you like this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Remy ran across the open area around her hunting cabin towards the front door with Fenrir at her heels. She slammed the butt of her Beretta savagely against the head of the flesh-eater tied to the pole near the door, killing it permanently, then she pounded her free handed against sturdy wooden.

"Jace! Open the fuckin' door!" She called out as loudly as she dared, looking around her cautiously in case the noise attracted any flesh-eaters that weren't tied up and rendered virtually harmless.

The scrap of multiple deadbolts and chains reached her ears and a moment later the wooden door flew open, Remy and Fenrir practically flying inside. The young woman slammed the door shut and hurriedly began locking the deadbolts and chains, not bothering acknowledge the confused and worried look on the faces of her godchildren as they stared at her with identically, wide blue eyes. She spun around to face then, slipping her gun back in her waistband at the small of her back and her flashlight back in the larger pocket of her cargos.

"We need to start packin'!" Remy stated urgently as she strode past them toward the kitchen to begin packing all the food, "Jace get tha weapons, Annie all our clothes, blankets, an' tha like. Leave out two sleepin' bags and a couple pillows though."

"Tante wha-"

"NOW!" Remy barked, cutting Jace off mid-sentence, and causing the siblings to jump, their eyes widening even more as they stared at her before hurrying to do as she ordered.

The young woman exhaled harshly through her nose, her lips pressed into a thin line behind her mask as she began pulling out medium-sized cardboard boxes full of canned and boxed food from the large walk-in pantry in the kitchen, setting them on the table to be taken to her H1 in the morning. She would need to explain what was going on and why they needed to leave the relative safety of the hunting cabin, but she would do that only after all of their supplies had been packed up and set aside to be taking out to the car in the morning.

* * *

"Tante? Everything's all packed." Annie stated unsurely as she stood beside her old half-brother in the doorway to the kitchen, "I left out a couple sleepin' bags like ya said and I packed everythin' else. It's all by the garage door with tha weapons."

"Good, good." Remy praised her goddaughter tiredly as she rubbed at her mouth, her mask bunched up around her neck, "We can start packin' everthin' up into tha Hummer tha mornin'. Come get somethin' to eat, both of ya."

Annie shifted her feet slightly, but she and Jace didn't move from the doorway, prompting Remy to look at them with a brow quirked in bemusement.

"Tante, what's goin' on?" Jace asked slowly, his own brows furrowing while his lips pursed, "What happened in tha woods today?"

The older woman narrowed her eyes slightly then she sighed and sat down heavily in one of the chairs around the sturdy wooden table, rubbing at her mouth with the back of her hand almost unconsciously. Fenrir whined slightly from his place lying under the table, looking up at his mistress with intelligent gold eyes as he wagged his bushy tail slightly.

"C'mere." She ordered quietly and she patted her leg, Annie shuffling over and sitting on her godmother's leg just like she used to when she was young while Jace took the seat to her right.

Remy sighed again, running her fingers lightly through her ten-year old goddaughter's dirty blonde hair and she began braiding it back away from her face. Fenrir slipped out from under the table and rested his large head on Annie's lap, his tongue lolling out when she began scratching his ears as her aunt French-braided her hair.

"Remember that boy I found in tha woods tha other day, Carl?" She asked slowly and the two siblings nodded in affirmation, so she continued, "Well, Fen an' I found 'im wanderin' in tha woods again, this time he brought a friend though."

"Yer kiddin'?" Annie drawled in surprise and she twisted around slightly to look at her godmother with raised brows.

Remy turned her head back around gently and continued braiding her hair, "Nah, I ain't kiddin'. It seems he thought I was in tha woods all by my lonesome with only Fen fer company. Figured he would try an' find me, so he could take me back to civilization, so to speak."

Jace and Annie snorted simultaneously, the seventeen year old young man leaning forward and resting his folded arms on the tabletop as he looked at his godmother with a curious expression, waiting for her to continue speaking. Remy finished one of Annie's braids and she held her hand over the young girl's shoulder, taking the hair tie she was handed and tying off the braid. She flipped the finished braid over the young girl's shoulder then started on the second one before she spoke again.

"A flesh-eater almost go 'em both. Fen musta caught Carl's scent, 'cause when I found 'em, they were both on the ground an' tha flesh-eater was about to grab 'em. Fen tackled it an' I put an arrow through its eye. Tha young boy, Louis, musta tripped while they was runnin' from it just before we got there, twisted his ankle somethin' awful, but it wasn' broken, thank tha Lord." Remy paused in her explanation and scratched her cheek idly with one hand then she went back to talking and braiding Annie's hair, "Fen gave tha little boy, Louis a ride while I led 'em back to their camp. 'Course, 'cause of Louis' ankle, I couldn' just watch from tha tree line as he an' Carl went back into their camp. Had to carry lil' Louis tha rest of tha way, his poor _mère _was worried sick. Let's jus' say after that, my welcome wasn' so warm an' I got tha hell outta there."

Jace gave her a confused look, he didn't understand why they had to leave the relative safety of the cabin since from what his godmother had told him the last time she was close to the camp at the quarry, the survivors there were just a bunch of lucky as hell city folk. He doubted any of them would be able to track his_ tante _through the woods and back to their haven. He knew his _tante _was paranoid and her PTSD reared its ugly head sometimes, but this was kind of extreme even for her.

"But why're we packin' up to leave, though?" Annie asked in confusion, apparently thinking along the same lines as her half-brother.

Remy tied off Annie's second braid with another hair tie the young girl handed her before she answered, her rough, raspy drawl sounding tired and slightly worried.

"'Cause, there's a man there with a crossbow, a hunter." She explained slowly and she idly rubbed one of the scars at the corner of her mouth with her thumb, "Good ol' boy, straight outta tha Georgia backwoods. He chased me an' Fen after I ran outta tha camp. I had Fen hid in an old burrow made up of roots under a tree, then I made it look like we'd jus' disappeared an' climbed tha tree. He knew though. Musta went into tha bushes an' waited there fer me to come down. He grabbed me an' tha only way I got lose was 'cause Fen knocked us both on our faces. Another man came barreling through tha woods while we were facin' off."

Remy snorted and rolled her eyes as she remembered the burly man in the deputy's cap, "Said he an' his people just wanted to ask me some questions, that they weren' goin' to hurt me."

"Lemme guess, ya called bullshit." Jace stated bluntly, ducking head at the sharp look Remy gave him, "Sorry."

The older woman eyed him a moment then continued, "Lost my one of my knives when I threw at a tree behind the other man to distract 'em an' Fen an' me ran. Almost got an arrow in tha face fer my trouble too, stupid crossbow-wielding _couyon_."

"You think he's goin' to try an' track ya down?" Jace asked slowly and his lips pursed as he thought about what that might mean if the hunter actually found them.

"I'd bet my rifle on it." Remy replied flatly and the siblings nearly balked, they both knew how important their godmother's rifle was to her.

"Well, shi-" Jace trailed off and cleared his throat when his godmother fixed him with a stern glare, "Damn…"

"Would it be so bad?"

Remy and Jace looked away from each other and towards Annie, surprised expressions on their faces at her soft question. The ten year old didn't look up at her godmother or half-brother, her gaze focused solely on Fenrir as she stroked his ears.

"What d'ya mean, _ma petite fille_?" Remy questioned and she shifted her goddaughter on her knee so the young girl was facing her.

Annie shifted and glanced up almost shyly at her godmother and half-brother, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

"I jus' meant, would it be so bad to join a group?" The young girl asked quietly and she rested her hand on Fenrir's head when the large wolf-dog placed it on her lap again.

Remy and Jace exchanged startled looks over Annie's head, Jace's eyebrows lifting to nearly his hair line. Sometimes they forgot just how young Annie really was and it became startlingly clear to Remy, that her goddaughter had not seen another living person beside her brother and Remy herself. The girl had never been the most social of children even before the world basically ended, but she was still just a child and children needed the company of other children, especially in times like this.

"I-" Remy faltered and rubbed at her mouth with the back of her hand, the leather of her gloves rough against her dry lips and she exhaled slowly, her mind flashing back to the last time she'd had to deal with a group when she'd gone scavenging in the city a few weeks ago.

The blood still stained her boots and the hem of her cargo pants. It definitely wasn't a memory she liked to revisit or be reminded of. Jace and Annie looked at their godmother quietly, the teenage boy knowing exactly where her thoughts had gone while his sister looked at Remy with an almost hopeful expression.

Remy exhaled heavily again and rubbed at her tired eyes, "Maybe yer right, _fille_. We'll talk more 'bout it in tha morning, though. Y'all should get some shuteye."

Jace opened his mouth to protest, but one stern look from Remy and his mouth shut with a small click. Annie giggled quietly as she hopped off her godmother's knee, taking the package of pemmican from Remy then she disappeared into the living room where the two sleeping bags were laid out with some pillows, Fenrir trotting happily after her. Jace huffed in good-natured annoyance and followed after his young sister after taking the bottle of water Remy held out to him, leaving his godmother to her thoughts in.

Remy sat at the table for another long moment then she got to her feet and headed into the living room, dropping a kiss on Annie's and Jace's forehead, much to the seventeen year old boy's protest, as she passed them on her way to the carefully stacked weapons by the door that led into the garage. She picked her Remington XM2010 ESR and her cleaning kit then she moved over to the chair by the front window that had been set up as a sort of lookout.

"Tante?" Annie called out sleepily from where she curled up in her sleeping in the middle of the cleared out living room, Fenrir curled around her head and her half-brother lying beside her in his own sleeping bag.

"Hmm?" Remy hummed questioningly as she began to clean her sniper rifle methodically, amber eyes flickering too look out between two of the boards one the window every few seconds.

"I love you."

The older woman froze and glanced at the blonde head resting sleepily on Fenrir's flank. Annie stared back at her with heavy-lidded blue eyes, Jace peering over her shoulder with a curious expression on his face.

Remy smiled softly at her goddaughter, "I love ya too, _ma petite chérie_. I love ya too, Jace."

Jace ducked his head and pulled his sleeping bag over his head, "Yeah, love ya both."

Remy's smile became a slight grin at the uncomfortable tone in her godson's voice and she returned her attention to cleaning her gun and keeping watch, listening to the comforting sounds of Jace, Annie, and Fenrir's deep breathing.

* * *

Daryl turned the Ka-Bar knife over his hands slowly, watching the way the firelight barely reflected off of the black blade. He could tell that the knife was well taken care off, the edges sharp and the blade meticulously clean.

"Where didja get that, little brother?"

Daryl glanced at his older brother briefly then he returned his attention to the military grade knife in his hand as Merle sat down heavily beside him on the long in front of their tent, reclining almost lazily on his hands with his legs stretched out in front of him.

"Bitch that brough' tha Grimes brat back to camp threw it Walsh's head."

Merle gave an obnoxious hoot of laughter, drawing a few stares from the other survivors who were still sitting around their separate campfire as they ate the squirrel and rabbit meat that Daryl and Merle had brought back from their hunt earlier in the day.

"Ya mean tha crazy masked bastard that got tha drop on ya?" Merle asked with a snicker as he looked over at his younger brother, hooting with laughter at the glare Daryl gave him, "That was a woman? Ya got yer ass handed to ya by a woman, Darylina?"

"Fuck off." Daryl snarled back in reply and he tightened his grip on the handle of the mystery woman's knife, "Ain't fer that fuckin' mutt ah hers, she wouldna gotten away."

Merle merely continued to hoot and holler with laughter, not caring about the dirty looks the other survivors were giving him and his brother.

"Would ya shut tha fuck up?" Daryl growled in annoyance and Merle grinned widely at him, his yellowing teeth flashing in the low firelight.

The two brothers sat in silence for a few moments then Merle stumbled to his feet and disappeared into the tent he and his brother shared, leaving Daryl to idly sharpen the black Ka-bar knife in his hands outside. The younger Dixon tensed when Shane Walsh strode over to his and his brother's campfire separate from the rest of the camp of survivors.

"Hey, Dixon, you gonna try trackin' that stranger down?"

Daryl scowled and slipped the knife in the spare sheath he had found in one of his bags, glaring up at Walsh through narrow eyes.

"Yeah, gotta problem with that?" The younger Dixon growled lowly, smirking faintly at the dark look that crossed over the slightly larger man's face.

"Just figured it better if ya went hunting for food instead of someone who kicked your ass." Shane replied coolly as he put his hands on his hips, "The camp could use the meat."

Daryl snorted and pulled a pocket knife from his pocket, using it to clean some of the dirt and grime out from under his short nails.

"Merle can take care ah tha huntin' fer tha day." He grunted without looking at the former deputy, "Last I checked, I didn' need yer fuckin' permission to do shit."

Shane glared at the taciturn redneck and he turned to walk back to the other campfire. Daryl smirked slightly to himself and folded his pocketknife, tucking it back into his pocket then he picked up his crossbow from where it was leaning against the log he was sitting on and he made his way into the tent to get some sleep. He was going to need all the sleep he could get if he wanted to find that masked bitch and her monster of a mutt.

* * *

Remy chewed quietly on the strip of Saskatoon berry and bison pemmican as she slipped on of her many spare Ka-Bar knives into her newly empty thigh sheath. Jace and Annie had were rolling up their sleeping bags and pillows, each with a strip of pemmican in hand. The sun was still a few hours away from rising when Remy had woken them up a few minutes ago, handed them a strip of bison pemmican, and then ordered them to start packing up their sleeping bags and pillows while she placed the supplies and weapons already packed into the back of her hummer. Fenrir was lying down under the table, happily ripping apart the squirrel he managed to snag when Remy had taken him outside to relieve himself after she had woken up an hour before she woke up her godchildren.

"So what's tha plan again?" Jace asked as he went to help his younger sister finish rolling up her sleeping bag while she sat down and ate the rest of her pemmican.

Remy slipped a knife into her each of combat boots, checking to make sure the sheaths were secure and she could easily unsheathe the blades if she needed to then she straightened.

"Ya, yer sister, an' Fen are gonna wait here, up in tha attic with a couple of rifles an' yer bows." The older woman explained carefully as she pulled on her black beanie over her short auburn hair, "I'm gonna head back to tha camp at tha quarry, and get my knife back from _couyon _redneck."

"What if they try to hurt ya?" Annie asked quietly around a mouthful of pemmican, smiling toothily when her brother snorted in amused disgust, "You should take Fen with ya, Tante."

Remy she walked over to the young girl and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead, "Hopefully that won't happen. An' Fen needs to stay here with ya an' yer brother, he can warn ya if anyone, dead or not, comes sniffin' 'round here."

Annie glanced over at the large wolf-dog, who was in the process of gnawing on the rest of the squirrel, blood coating his black muzzle, and the young girl made disbelieving and disgusted face.

"But just in case something _does_ happen and I don't come back by this afternoon," Remy said as she reached into one of her cargo pockets and pulled out a set of car keys, handing them to Jace, "I want ya to head try and head back to Labadieville, get do my _Papere's _land, to the bunker there. If-if any of our family is still alive, that's where they'll be, ya hear?"

"It ain't gonna come to that." Jace said firmly, but he took the keys and placed them in his pocket, "Ya can' take care of them city-folk. Ya've taken on worse, Tante."

Remy smiled and she cupped his cheeks, lowering his head and pressing a maternal kiss to his forehead, "That I have, _chéri_, that I have. But I still want ya to be prepared."

Jace nodded once and he quickly grabbed the two rifles that hadn't been packed away into his godmother's hummer, nodding his head to the crossbow and the compound bow that were on the floor beside them. Annie jumped to her feet, hugging Remy's around the waist quickly then she grabbed the silent long range weapons and darted up the stairs that led up to attic. Fenrir, finished with his squirrel, licked his mistress's hand then followed the young girl up to the attic, leaving Jace and Remy in the living room.

Jace fidgeted and frowned with his brows furrowed as he looked at his godmother, "Be safe, alrigh'."

Remy smiled and pulled up her mask, covering the lower part of her face, "Stay inside an' don' come out unless I give ya the all clear. An' don' go shootin' nothin' unless ya absolutely have too."

"Yeah, yeah, git goin'." Jace mumbled embarrassedly and he jerked his chin towards the front door, "I'll lock up behind ya."

Remy's amber eyes warmed, but she didn't say anything as she slipped silently out of the cabin, Jace watching as she disappeared into the still dark woods, dawn still an hour or so away.

* * *

Daryl adjusted his crossbow so it rested comfortably across his back, squinting his eyes against the bright morning sunlight. The sun had risen a little over an hour ago and he he'd woken up with it, spending the time preparing for his day out tracking the stranger that had come into the camp the other day while Merle slept off his drug-induced hangover. The rest of the camp was beginning to stir, the other survivors beginning their chores for the day. Daryl checked the Ka-Bar knife strapped to his waist, opposite to his own hunting knife. Me

"Hey!"

Dale's sudden shout of surprise and warning had Daryl's head jerking around to stare in the RV's direction. The old man was pointing towards the forest, a look of worry and stunned disbelief on his aged face and Daryl rushed forward, slinging his crossbow off his back and into his hands. He met up with Shane, the former deputy holding his shotgun in hand as they faced the tree line where a shadowed figure was standing. T-Dog, Jim, Morales, and Glenn joined the redneck and former deputy, each holding a weapon with Dale remaining on the RV, the rest of the survivors hovering around their tents or the RV, families bunching protectively together.

Daryl's eyes narrowed into angry slits as the masked stranger stepped out of the trees and walked slowly towards the line of armed men with her hands raised near her head, a long bow clutched in one hand.

"That's far enough." Shane barked and the masked woman stopped several feet from them, hands still raised, "Why are you here?"

"My knife," The woman rasped in a thick Southern drawl that was obviously not Georgian and amber eyes flickered over to Daryl, landing briefly at the Ka-Bar knife strapped at his hip, "I'd like it back if ya please, _couyon_."

Daryl scowled at the unfamiliar term and he kept his crossbow leveled with her head, the other men not relaxing in the least.

"Remy!"

The younger Dixon saw Shane jerk his head around from the corner of his eye at the Grimes kid's shout, but he didn't lower his crossbow or take his eyes off the masked woman. He refused to let her get the drop on him again, not after yesterday.

"Carl!" Lori cried out as her son jerked out of her grasp and darted past the line of men, easily dodging the hands that tried to grab him as he launched himself at the masked woman.

"Remy, you're okay!" Carl gasped excitedly as he looked up at the woman happily, his thin arms around her narrow waist, "You came back, I knew you would!"

"Hey,_ chéri_." The woman, Remy, cooed and she put one hand on the kid's head, her other still holding the longbow up in the air where the other survivors could see it.

"Dammit." Shane swore quietly and he lowered his shotgun, running his hand through his dark, curly hair, "Dixon, put that shit down!"

Daryl scowled darkly and barely lowered his crossbow, keeping it ready just in case the bitch tried something. He glared angrily at the masked woman, catching sight of the Grimes woman as she rushed forward and stood beside Walsh, wringing her thin hands together.

"Shane, do something!" The woman hissed at the former deputy as she watched her son hug the stranger, a beaming smile on his young face.

"Carl!" Shane called out sternly and the twelve year old turned to look at his father's best friend, his blue eyes bright with glee, "Get back over here, little man."

A determined expression suddenly appeared on Carl's face and he shook his head, his arms tightening around the masked woman's waist almost protectively.

"No, you and Mr. Daryl might try and hurt Remy if I let go." Carl stated defiantly with a furrowed brow.

Daryl couldn't help but snort, the kid wasn't stupid that was for sure. He was slightly surprised when the woman untangled the kid's arms from around her waist and she pushed him towards Walsh.

"Go on, git back over there, _chéri_." The masked woman ordered firmly, though her voice was still warm, "Yer freakin' yer Mama out. Go on now, git."

Carl hesitated, but at another gentle nudge from the woman behind him, he reluctantly shuffled back over to his mother with a frown marring his young face.

"Don't hurt her, Shane." Carl pleaded as he stood in front of Shane, reaching out to grab the former deputy's arm, "Please, Shane, she won't hurt anyone."

Daryl rolled his eyes and brought his crossbow back up when the masked woman moved.

"Don' ya even fuckin' move." He barked and he saw amber eyes narrow.

"If I can' move, I can' put my damn bow down, _couyon_." She snapped back and she slowly placed her longbow on the ground.

Body tense in preparation, Daryl watched narrowly as she reached behind her and pulled out two handguns, Walsh pushing the Grimes kid behind him and jerking his shotgun back up when he saw the guns. The woman rolled her amber eyes and placed the guns on the ground by the longbow, then she removed the quiver hanging from her waist and placed it on the ground beside the bow. The two knives strapped to her each of her thighs joined the guns, bow, and quiver on the ground, followed by a large machete she had strapped to her back and a few more smaller knives she pulled from the pockets of her cargo pants then she straightened and stepped back, her hands in the air.

"I ain't lookin' to hurt anyone here." She drawled slowly as she took another step away from the weapons.

Daryl kept his eyes on her, never lowering his crossbow even as Walsh lowered his shotgun and eyed the woman skeptically for a moment.

"Glenn, T-Dog." The former deputy nodded towards the weapons and the two men shuffled forward cautiously, but the woman didn't move an inch and her hands remained in the air by her head, even though she tensed when the two men grabbed her weapons, "Why are you here then?"

The woman exhaled harshly and she slowly lowered her hands, letting them hang by her side.

"I told ya I came back fer my knife." She replied flatly and she shifted her feet slightly, "An' 'cause I've got two kids with me, one of 'em a few years younger than Carl. It's just been me, her, an', her brother since shit started. She needs to be 'round other people."

Shane stared at her for several moments, looking her up and down critically then he lowered his shotgun further, "Why would I let you stay here when you attacked me? If your aim was better, that knife would have been in my head."

The woman's amber eyes flashed dangerously, the corners crinkling in what was obviously a smile.

"Trust me, _beaudreau_, if I wanted to put that knife into yer head, that's where it would be." She commented nonchalantly with a shrug, her amber eyes still glinting with dangerous amusement, "'Sides, it was self-defense, you and tha _couyon_ over there were tryin' to corner me. How was I to know ya wouldna tried to hurt me?"

"Are y'all just gonna keep talkin' or are we gonna take care of this intruder?" Daryl snapped angrily as he glared at the masked woman.

"Put it down, Dixon." Shane snapped back and he ran his hand through his hair again, looking from the woman to the other survivors in thought.

"Bunch of fuckin' idiots! All of y'all!" Daryl growled as he turned to storm away from the other survivors, making sure to keep the masked woman in sight, "Should jus' take care ah tha fuckin' problem."

* * *

Remy watched impassively as the angry Georgian redneck stormed away, her shoulders tensed in preparation for the obviously short-tempered redneck to attack her. She had handed over most of her weapons, with the exception of the knives she had in her boots and the small pistol strapped to the small of her back under her shirt. She wasn't going to be completely unarmed, not on the off chance that these people were hostile.

The other survivors were huddled together and she knew they were discussing what to do with her, Carl's young voice loud and the most adamant about her staying with them. Her attention was pulled away from the furious crossbow-wielding _couyon_ when the burly man with shotgun approached her, the gun held loosely in his hands. The other survivors huddled behind him, the other armed men standing protectively in front of them while another man stood atop of the ancient-looking Winnebago, all of them looking at her with varying degrees of suspicion and interest.

"Deputy Shane Walsh." He introduced himself and he held out a large hand to her, "Carl says that we can trust you, but you'll understand if I don't hand over your weapons right away. Now, I don't know the purpose of that mask of yours and it ain't my business to ask, but the others find it a little disconcerting."

Remy stared at the hand he held out to her in contemplation then she looked him in the eye without taking it. He frowned slightly, but he let his hand fall to his side without comment as he waited for her to speak.

"You don't trust me and I sure as hell don't trust y'all. The mask stays, disconcerting or not, I don't feel comfortable removing it." She drawled slowly without looking away from his eyes.

Shane's dark eyes narrowed and his frowned deepened, both at her refusal to remove the mask and the fact that she hadn't said her name, "Fine. You said you were with others. Where are they?"

"Annie and Jace, there at a cabin 'bout five or six miles east of here." Remy replied easily enough, the reluctance she felt at divulging the information not showing in her voice, "It was their father's hunting cabin."

"You got supplies?"

"Yeah, I go scavenging in the city if we need stuff we can't get it from the woods. We can share some with y'all if ya need it."

"What about that mutt you have with you?" Shane asked slowly when he thought about the massive canine that had been with her the other day.

"He stays." She stated firmly, her rough drawl as unyielding as her hard amber eyes, "He can smell a flesh-eater from a mile away. I've trained him since he was a puppy, he ain't going."

Remy watched as he pursed his lips, clearly irritated at her tone, but she'd faced off with bigger, badder men and she hadn't backed down. Hell would freeze over before she'd let this former deputy try and cow her into submission.

"You haven't given me your name." He said instead, his dark eyes boring into her amber ones, "You want to stay in this camp, you tell me who the hell you are."

The young woman stiffened her spine and Shane watched in some surprise as she stood at attention, amber eyes focused straight ahead of her. His surprise grew when she spoke, her rasping Southern drawl slightly muffled by the mask covering the lower half of her face.

"Sergeant Remington Jones, United States Marine Corps."

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, my friend kept being indecisive about how best to introduce Remy into the group. After some debate we finally came to a decision and thus the rest of the chapter kinda flowed from there. There will be more on Remy's military background in later chapters, but for now, I hope I got everything right. I don't personally know anyone in the Marines, and neither does my friend, but it was her idea to have Remy be a scout sniper so I've been doing as much research on scout snipers and the military ranks used by the USMC as I can, but I'm bound to make mistakes, which I hope y'all will feel point out to me. Anyhooties, I hope everything (mainly Daryl) was in character and not too OOC, he's kind of a hard character to write for some reason. Anyhooties, my friend and I hope you guys liked this chapter! :]**

**EDIT: Forgot to add the translations XD**

**Translations: **

_Cher/C__héri/Chérie_ – Dear or darling - also used as "buddy" or "pal"  
_Couyon - _An insult, usually means an ignorant/stupid person or fool  
_Ma petite fille - _My little girl (an endearment)  
_Fille - _Girl, daughter, or unmarried woman (also used as an endearment)  
_Ma petite chérie -_ My little darling (another endearment)  
_Papere - _Grandfather  
_Beaudreau - _Pronounced Boo-drow, friend/chum/buddy or a substitute term for a random associate/unknown person

**EDIT 2: Just did some research and discovered that women can't be Marine scout snipers (which is kinda ridiculous in my opinion), so I changed Remy's introduction of herself a little bit, but I wanted to ask y'all what if you think I should keep her as a scout sniper (ignoring the fact that women can't be part of any combat MOS's in the military) or should I have her MOS be something else?**

**Special THANKS to everyone that faved and/or alerted! You guys are awesome-sauce and we lurves you muchos!**

**SPECIAL MENTIONS!**

**Leyshla Gisel: **Thank you, we're glad you like it so far! Yeah, I wasn't too thrilled about having to write about season 1, I'd have much rather started out during Season 2 or something, but after a long and winded debate/lecture on why we had to write the story during season 1, I just agreed with my friend to shut her up. XD Anyhooties, we hope you like this chapter!

**ScornedxRose: **Thank you! Remy is definitely one of the more interesting characters I've written about. Anyhooties, hope you like this chapter!

**Mmeggy999: **Thanks, we're glad you liked the last chapter! We hope you like this one too! :]


	4. NOT A CHAPTER: Author's Note

**Dear Readers of When the Gun Smoke Settles,**

**My friend and I apologize for not updating in forever but we'd hit a bit of writer's block that has been refusing to go away. After we'd gone back and reread the chapters, we decided that we didn't like the story very much or how it was progressing. As of right now, we are working on rewriting the entire story and it should, hopefully, be up within the next few days. The basic concept, plot, and characters are pretty much going to be the same, just written differently. It's still gonna be taking place before Season 1 and then continuing through the seasons, so that won't be different. Anyhooties, the title is most likely going to be ****_Damn the Dead and Try to Survive_****, which was inspired by the song 'Not Ready to Die' by Avenged Sevenfold. Also my friend wanted to include the new summary for the rewrite, so here it is;**

_**"I ain't ready to die yet, but if somethin' happens, you'll take care of it, yeah?" Daryl paused and glanced over at her with narrowed eyes, "Ain't nothin' gonna happen." She crossed her arms, "Promise me you'll take care of it." He hesitated a moment then nodded slowly, "If anythin' happens, I'll take care of it." "Ya better or Imma go after ya first." He snorted.**_

**-Hugs and kisses, Plague's Vengeance + her friend**


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